1
a
: the action of traversing a district or beat or of going the rounds along a chain of guards for observation or the maintenance of security
b
: the person performing such an action
c
: a unit of persons or vehicles employed for reconnaissance, security, or combat
2
: a subdivision of a Boy Scout troop or Girl Scout troop
patrolled; patrolling
: to carry out a patrol
: to carry out a patrol of
patroller
noun
Examples of patrol in a Sentence
Noun
The guard makes a patrol of the building every hour.
Soldiers are on patrol along the border.
Army patrols combed the area.
Verb
The squad had orders to patrol the area.
The border is patrolled by the army.
Recent Examples on the Web
Hannah Dormido, Washington Post, 5 July 2024
Most Popular More in Crime and Public Safety After a decades-long ban on the uniform addition, Arapahoe County sheriff’s deputies will once again be allowed to don cowboy hats on patrol.
—Katie Langford, The Denver Post, 2 July 2024
Maritza Dominguez, The Arizona Republic, 9 July 2024
Critically, Chinese military planes routinely patrol the Taiwan Strait, the epicenter of competition between China and the United States.
—Jane Perlez, Foreign Affairs, 5 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for patrol 
Noun
The incident began shortly before 11:30 a.m. when the officer, on patrol near the Rosslyn station, saw the man trying to carjack a vehicle at North Nash Street and North Fort Myer Drive, just outside the station, said Ashley Savage, an Arlington police spokeswoman.
—Hannah Dormido, Washington Post, 5 July 2024
Most Popular More in Crime and Public Safety After a decades-long ban on the uniform addition, Arapahoe County sheriff’s deputies will once again be allowed to don cowboy hats on patrol.
—Katie Langford, The Denver Post, 2 July 2024
Verb
Mesa does not have enough police officers to adequately patrol our community.
—Maritza Dominguez, The Arizona Republic, 9 July 2024
Critically, Chinese military planes routinely patrol the Taiwan Strait, the epicenter of competition between China and the United States.
—Jane Perlez, Foreign Affairs, 5 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for patrol
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'patrol.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near patrol
Cite this Entry
“Patrol.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patrol. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
patrol
1 of 2 noun
pa·trol
pə-ˈtrōl 
1
a
: the action of going the rounds of an area for observation or guard
b
: the person or group doing the patrolling
2
: a part of a Boy Scout or Girl Scout troop
patrol
2 of 2 verb
patrolled; patrolling
: to carry out a patrol or a patrol of
patroller
noun
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